Horror Installation Story Today --- Please Read!
I was rescheduled by Emerald Coast to Wednesday between 8-12 for an installation. Near 9:30am these two guys in an old S-10 pull up to my house and inform me that they are here to do my install for Voom. After a few minutes of chit-chat and showing them around my relatively simple ranch house (1750sq feet) and my HDTV unit, they start asking me about getting paid to do a wall-fish for me for $75.00 --- I inform them that I work as Director for a very large cable company and I will not pay $75 to run 25 feet of RG-6 cable through an existing outlet location. We routinely pay our subcontractor about $12-15 to fish a cable on our national contract prices. I told them politely that I would have the work done by my own service techs today and for now just get their Voom dish working. After that point, (of not getting paid extra $) they began to show the first signs of unwillingness to work. So it began...
They informed me that they don't get paid to run multiple lines or to enter attic space. They said they were going to do what they wanted to get it working. They said the OTA wouldn't work and they put it back into their own truck? Isn't this part of install and/or my equipment? They proceeded to mount the dish and get some work done. I walked around back and noticed the installer using my own personal ladder that he took without permission from my garage. Then I go back out front and see them standing around for nearly 20mins and I inquire as to what is going on. They said that they needed to charge their drill because it was dead before they got here today. I said politely (as a Director of Cable Co and also as a Manager of several contractors) you guys need to really have your own equipment and tools ready to work when you arrive on a jobsite. I also informed them that it they want to use a customer's ladder (ridiculous) they should at the very least ask before taking.
Dallas, the younger of the two, told me that I should mind my own business and that my cable company sucks and I suck too, and that I am an idiot. He told me that I should not get involved and report anything to their supervisor. Then he proceeded to continue to mumble under his breath. I immediately phoned Emerald Coast Broadband and informed them that I will not be treated in such a way by their agents. Their supervisor called me back and I explained the story to him. He informed me that he didn't even know who these guys were (they must be new) and asked to speak to them. The older guy, Daryl, took the call and went outside (what I believed was to rebute my statements and explain his side of the story) Sure enough I overhear the subcontractor saying, "Oh this customer is wrong. We have our own tools, ladders and our drill was charged. He is just trying to get us in trouble." I lost it.
I told him not to lie to cover his own inadequate abilities. I asked Emerald Coast for a new installer immediately to complete the job. Then Dallas ran around back and used my ladder to yank the dish off my house and cut the lines for my cable and dish. I told them to stop that this was my equipment and I have Voom on the phone right now. They said "So what, we are taking the equipment" --- At that point, I told them to leave my property and do not return.
I then called Emerald Coast back and asked when I would be reinstalled. Then I called Voom and was told that they were working with Installs, Inc to get it taken care of and I was given the # for Installs Inc. Installs Inc was very concerned and promised me that they would attempt reschedule the installation with an entirely different contractor. I am now waiting to hear back from someone to either fix this problem or cancel my service with Voom completely. I have not only lost my installation today due to their actions, I have missed another day of work.
Just wanted to share this with the Voom family here.
Andy
